The echo of her footsteps faded in the stone corridors. Far from the sealed chamber, far from the expectant gazes, Leriana finally slowed her pace.
Cassiel said nothing. He walked beside her, attentive to every irregular breath, to every gesture that betrayed the exhaustion she refused to admit.
When they were alone, Leriana stopped.
She placed one hand on the wall and the other, almost instinctively, rested on her belly. The land of the fairies pulsed weakly beneath her feet, and that unstable pulse pierced her like a cruel reminder.
“It’s dying...” she murmured. “And I can’t do anything to stop it.”
Cassiel approached, standing in front of her without invading her space.
“Not yet,” he gently corrected. “That’s not the same thing.”
Leriana let out a brief, humorless laugh.
“I have
